#1>3 Somehow I am thinking Chad and Stephanie were not meant to end up in that lake after all....

# 6>8 are recycled

# 11>17 may be Accra?? Need to match that square....

#20>24 Who are the ladies please??

# 25>26 Heathrow

# 28>31 Also Accra...note the FAITH on the rear windscreen

#39 Is another biggie to figure out timing ....

Time to spoil!!

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

My guesses:#20-24 Could this be after the watermelon task, on the way up to the top of the castle before the zipline? There was something about scaling castle walls in that preview article. I'm thinking this is Jenna working besides either Katy or Rachel. I notice the girl in green has what appears to be a large birthmark on her arm, have we noticed this before? (although it could just be dirt. lol)

I think picture 39 shows Thomas & Jill as our first leg winner. The greenery and landscape look the same as the watermelon/wall climbing areas, so I believe it to be the first leg.

If your team checks in first to the Pitstop...you will receive the most impt prize we have ever given away!

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

I've been going insane tonight trying to keep up with both TAR's premiere with the additional 30 minutes and the NFL overrun, and the Sunday Night NFL game, because the Dolphins are involved for the first time since TAR moved to Sunday nights.

I thought this was an excellent start. The tasks were challenging, and I think it's fair to say that the least competent teams sort of sank to the bottom be the end of the leg. Just to show how first impressions can be wrong, the first team to the airport in Boston got eliminated, and the last team to the Boston airport checked in at the pit stop in 3rd place.

Driving manual is one thing, driving manual with the gears in the opposite side is a whole 'nother thing that's a lot more difficult, methinks. Some people can flip their brains to handle it with no problems, others can't. I didn't get the impression that teams didn't have a driver that could drive stick, it's that the gear positions are different that what people over here would learn if they learned to drive stick at all, and that's why the teams were having problems.

Of course, there are older cars that are set up in the UK the way we're used to, as Britian didn't switch to the opposite side of the highway (as to traverl directions).

Before I forget -- am I the only one to notice the return of the Amazing Yellow Line? Since the season when the show adopted Google Maps, it hadn't used an AYL, just red, green, orange, and blue, at different times, so I was glad to see our old friend AYL back, even if it shared space with Amazing Red Line.

Okay, having watched the season premiere of TAR 17, i just thought how lame TARA 4 season premiere is.

Just the first 10 minutes of the show and it got me really fired up and worked up for the entire season, to want to see who wins and who will have a chance to get to know each other better and which locations they will be going to. It is the first time in 17 seasons where i actually appreciated the MULTI camera angles at the starting line and helicopter shots of the vehicles moving away from the starting line. It made the first 10 minutes of the show truly exciting and truly one of its own.

And throughout the entire episode, i just can't sit down properly without feeling excited for each and every moment of the race. The editing was so good that i really thought Katie and Rachel had a good chance of getting on the first flight, when in fact Chad and Stefenie were just moments behind Jill and Thomas. The editing really got to me!! But at least it really kept me glued to the TV screen.

I loved this leg because SELF-DRIVING is back. You see, when a team loses because they suck at self-driving, it is entirely of their own fault and no one will feel bad if they got eliminated. Okay, i would have been sad if Andie and Jenna got eliminated, but wouldn't be as sad because they can only blame themselves for not driving well.. but thank God the mother and daughter is still around. Ron and Tony, i don't know what they were thinking, but if you're lost... or terribly lost.. don't keep driving... of course i don't know if they did keep driving on, but it is impossible to just keep driving in the wrong direction had they bothered to ask directions more frequently.

The wade a boat across the river task was a genius task which forced teams to work together and i loved it. The Roadblock was creative and only Amazing Race producers can think of something like that. I think the producers were even happier that Brooke/Claire (one of them, i still don't know who is who yet) got a watermelon straight at her head and it is good for TV. LOL! But it was definitely pain and i gotta say that the task is definitely one of those memorable tasks that you will remember on the first leg.. (Cheese rolling anyone?? LOL!)

London is beautiful and i loved the sights that TAR offered us! Realized that the split screens that they used on Season 14 were absence from this season.. will they be back?

I love the teams this season.. with the exception of Chad and Stefenie! As usual i'm rooting for ALL 4 of the ALL-FEMALE teams but everyone else maybe except Jill and Thomas is in my good books right now.. this season really reminded me of the time during TAR 14 where i loved most of the teams at the beginning.

Joab is absolutely right that the boat task was "genius". The comedy provided by teams overturning and finally learning the hard way that the tortoise shells were there for a reason (slow and steady) was divine.

There are 2 controversies of differences in the facts concerning what Phil stated at the start of the race:1. Someone on another thread stated that 12 legs were mentioned. If so, I did not hear it either the first time or the second time that I listened to to Phil.2. Another media source covering the Amazing Race has stated that the Express Pass was good only if used before the 8th leg of AR17. I saw no substantiation of that anywhere on my first episode tape. Perhaps they have inside information. We may only know if Thomas and Jill survive to the 8th leg and then either attempt to use it or do not use it when they clearly should have if it was applicable.

I believe Phil mentioned the eighth leg limit when he awarded the Express Pass at the pit stop to Jill and Thomas. But I do recall Phil specifically mentioning that aspect of the Express Pass.

I was under the impression that Phil did not state the actual number of legs ("a number of legs...." is what he stated at the start line) and that there were 8 elimination points. But there have been 12 episodes the last three seasons, so to me there's either 11 legs with an ubderleg thrown in, or 12 actual legs.